fandomhigh | International Cuisine

Class had been alerted that they would be meeting at Portalocity unless otherwise specified, and that their destination this week would be somewhat cooler than Baltimore currently.

When they all showed up, Hannibal nodded to them. "Welcome. The idea of this class is that each week we will experience a different cuisine of the world. Those of you who are not from Earth may not be aware, but this world is home to thousands of different cultures and cuisines. Even those of you that are from Earth may not be familiar with many of the sorts of foods available to you."

He waved them through the portal that appeared, where they ended up on a street in front of a building with a tree growing through it.

"Welcome to São Paulo, Brazil. Brazil is the largest country on the continent of South America; São Paulo is its most populous city. There are influences of both the indigenous peoples and the Portuguese empire in its culture and food. This restaurant is Figueira Rubaiyat, so named because of the tree it is built around. Some of the food is raised and grown locally. They employ a number of meats, from beef to octopus; they also take particular pride in their desserts. The local language is Brazilian Portuguese, but they should also speak English here, or Spanish if you prefer."

He led them in and they were shown to their table. "Please enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions."

[OOC: Anybody that wants to drop by Portalocity and catch them will be welcomed on the field trip, this week or any week! Auditors encouraged. :) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hm. Well, after a few days, it was likely stale," Hannibal said. "The starch molecules crystallize," he explained. "Before then...did you ask people if they wanted to eat it? Most humans, unless they are extremely hungry, are unlikely to simply ask for your food. It would be considered rude."

"I brought it into one of the common rooms," Peridot replied. "I was under the impression that that was what humans did when they had food they wanted to share."

Well. She wasn't wrong.

"I'm not familiar with the common rooms, I'm afraid," Hannibal said. "It could be that there was simply nobody interested in bread those few days, or that they still felt wrong simply asking."

He smiled at her. "Humans are overly complicated, are they not?"

"They are," Peridot muttered, scowling a little bit. "It's frustrating."

Even for those of us who did grow up on Earth, 'Dot.

Hannibal chuckled. "It can take years or even decades to gain a decent understanding of humans, even for other humans," he said. "Some never manage it. You seem to be doing fairly well so far. Willingness to learn is the most important part."

"Oh, I have that." Peridot snorted and shook her head. "And alllll the time in the world."

More than the world used to have! Which wasn't actually saying much.

"Then I have no doubt you'll succeed." Hannibal toasted her with his wine, then stopped to explain.

"When drinking, particularly alcoholic beverages, it is often customary to touch the rims of glasses together in what is called a 'toast'. It can be as simple as that, a gesture wishing others well, or it can involve a speech for specific wishes. And when the other person has no glass, or many in a group are toasting together, we simply raise our glasses like this in imitation of the touch."

"Oh... I had wondered."

She'd seen something like that on the television, and mostly what she'd gotten out of it was, 'yes, that is definitely a roughly spherical glass container full of fluid. Good for you.'

"Thank you for that explanation."

"You're very welcome," Hannibal said. "If there is anything I should explain and fail to, please let me know. It can at ti mes be difficult to realize the knowledge we take for granted."

International Cuisine | Friday, 3rd period

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